News

An enrolling clinical trial is assessing whether a “booster shot” of a COVID-19 vaccine can improve the immune response in people with scleroderma and other autoimmune diseases who did not respond, at all or optimally, to their original COVID-19 vaccine regimen. The study also will test whether temporarily stopping…

Supervised rehabilitation combining a whirlpool bath with active exercises and hand and elbow massages may improve hand and overall function in people with scleroderma, a study from Poland reported. Its findings suggest that a four-week rehabilitation program may be enough for these benefits to last up to six months…

The fecal microbiome — the community of microbes present in stools — of scleroderma patients is more diverse than that of healthy people, according to a Canadian study. The findings also showed that the diversity and abundance of bacterial species in the stools was higher among patients with an abnormal…

Sexual dysfunction is common among both men and women with scleroderma (SSc), a review study says. According to the researchers, closer consideration of sexual dysfunction is warranted as it impairs patients’ quality of life. “Paying greater attention to the sexual function of patients with SSc is meaningful because sexual…

High levels of a protein known as CTRP9 appear to indicate worsening lung function in patients with systemic scleroderma (SSc), according to a recent study. The discovery suggests that CTRP9 may be a useful biomarker for the loss of lung function in SSc. Such biomarkers are sorely needed, researchers…

Nearly 30% of scleroderma patients have nerve damage outside of the brain and spinal cord — called peripheral neuropathy — and it most frequently appears in the first decade after disease onset, according to a review study. Notably, this frequency is higher than that reported for the general…

Some patients with systemic scleroderma (SSc) appear to develop breast cancer with a good prognosis, a small study has found. The findings suggest reducing exposure to cancer therapies, namely chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which should be limited to higher-risk patients. The study, “Clinical and pathological features of breast cancer…

Nearly two-thirds of people with scleroderma undergo physical therapy — often called PT — and are generally satisfied with their care. But nearly half of all patients need more information on such treatment, according to the results of a questionnaire conducted in the Netherlands. Individual therapy, provided by…

Changes from the norm in the electrical conduction of the heart — called cardiac axis deviations — are “common” and indicative of poorer outcomes in people with systemic sclerosis-related pulmonary hypertension (SSc-PH), a study reported. Because cardiac axis deviations are easily measured by electrocardiography (ECG), monitoring for such deviations…

Under-the-skin treatment with tiny vesicles produced by mesenchymal stem cells significantly lessened skin abnormalities and scarring, while reducing markers of disease and inflammation, in a mouse model of scleroderma, a study showed. Notably, these beneficial effects — similar to those of treatment with the bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells…